Contract Reformation Permitted Under Louisiana Law

Contract Reformation Permitted under Louisiana Law

By: Kevin Phillips

Richard v. Anadarko Petroleum Company, 2015 WL 1357013, 2015 U.S.Dist. LEXIS 37232 (W.D. La., March 24, 2015, Drell, J.).Judge Dee Drell of the Western District of Louisiana issued an opinion on March 24, 2015 in this personal injury case. The defendants were seeking coverage under the plaintiff-employer's policy of insurance based on reciprocal indemnity agreements in the contracts. Anadarko was owner of the leasehold and contracted various parties to perform work on the drill ship.  Liberty Mutual, the insurer of the employer, brought a motion for summary judgment to dismiss claims by various contractors of Anadarko as additional insureds on the basis that the contracts required the subcontractors of Anadarko to be named as additional insureds and not the contractors of Anadarko. The subcontractors then argued that the contracts could be reformed.  After determining the applicable law (Louisiana), the district court reviewed the law of contract reformation and determined that the parties seeking additional assured status could reform the contracts. The Motion for Summary Judgment was thus denied.